Storage-container



'1. R. AND M. B. DRIVER.

STORAGE CONTAINER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 2o, 1919.

Patented Apr. 13, 1920.

A UNITED 'STATES PATENT oFFIcE.

JOHN' .'B. DRIVER AND MICHAEL B. DRIVER, OF BERKELEY, CAI-JIFOLYtJ'IA.v

Specification of Letters Patent.

STORAGE-CONTAINER.

Patented Apr. 13, 1920.

Application led May 20, 1919. Serial No. 298,538.

, To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN R. DRIVER and MICHAEL B. DRIVER, citizens ofthe United States, and residents of the city of Berkeley, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented a certain new and useful lmprovement in Storage-Containers, of which the following is a specification.

@ur invention relates to improvements in storage containers and the like for storing furniture and other goods iniwarehouses.

At present it is the practice to construct storage warehouses with a number of separate and independent rooms .or compartments wherein dierent lots of goods, belonging to diderent owners, are stored for periods.

ln constructing such warehouses it therefore becomes necessary to build the different oors or stories close together in order to provide the greatest possible number of rooms, which requires also additional partitions, doors and other equipment'to provide a suitable number of rooms or compartments.

lt is also essential in some cases, before storing furniture and the like, to properly crate the various articles which requires lumber and the services pof a skilled and experienced operator.

We propose to elnninate the cost and material required for providing an excessive number of separate compartments as well as the cost and material of crating, where necessary, by providing a suitable storage container within which the goods may be packed at the premises of the owner of such goods and thereby eliminate handling of said goods, said containers, or compartments, to be packed or stored in rows, or in any other suitable manner providing accessibility to the containers, within a warehouse or the like, thereby eliminating the necessity for an excessive number of compartments or separate rooms and also r'educing the number of floors required in said warehouse by packing or placing the containers on top of each other. A

Our invention consists in the particular arrangement and construction of the device disclosed in the drawings forming a part of the present specification, wherein like characters of reference are used to designate similar parts throughout the said speci- `our improved container;

2 is a broken plan view; and

F 1g. 3 is a detailed view of the door lock- 1ng. or securing mechanism. Referring to the drawings, the number l 1s used to designate in general a container consisting ofupper and lower horizontally disposed angles 2 and 3 respectively conneoted at their corner to provide upper and lower rectangular frames, said frames being in turn connected at their corners by means of vertically disposed corner angles fl as disclosed in Figs. l and 2 of the drawings vertically disposed members 6 are connected between the upper and lower angles 2 and 3 preferably on one of the longer sides thereof as disclosed in Figs. l and 2 ofthe drawings, and adjacent the corner angles 4.

Each member 6 has hinfredly mounted thereon a suitable door 7, said doors being arranged to swing outwardly and to meet, at their free ends, at a point approximately midway between the members 6 and to loverlap, at their upper and lower ends, the upper and lower angles 2 and 3 respectively.

A sheet metal housing 8 extends from one member 6 around the container or the corner angles l to the opposite member 6 thereby inclosing the angles 2, 3 and el, and that portion of the members `6 uncovered by the doors 7.

A top plate 9 is mounted upon the upper rectangular frameand the angles 2 thereof and is provided with depending langes 1l which extend or overlap the upper ends of the sheet metal housing 8, the purpose of which will hereinafter be more fully set forth.

`A bottom plate 12 is mounted upon the lower flanges of the lower angles 3 constituting the lower rectangular frame of the container l, as disclosed in Figs. l and 2 of the drawings.

In order to facilitate the handling of the container'l we have provided rings 10 pivotally mounted adjacent the top corners of the container l so that hooks or slings, not

shown, may be attached to elevate the con-- V tainer' in a horizontal position regardless of icient manner to prevent egress of the contents of the container we have provided a pair of bars 12 having slots liprovided with enlarged circular portions 16 to `engage the stems of enlarged heads l17 secured to the face of the container 1. The opposite ends of the bars l2 are provided with lateral extensions 18 having pins 19 extending through apertured brackets 21 asdisclosed inFig. 3 of the drawings. The pms 19 `are each provided with an aperture 22 through which a lock or seal, not shown, may be inserted to prevent withdrawal of the pin 19 which movement would move the enlarged head 17 into the enlarged portion 16 of the slot 14 and thereby permit removal of said bars 12 and the opening of the doors 7.

The container 1 is designed to be moved A to the home of the owner of the goods to be securely packing and locking the container stored, if desirable, and the Agoods packed into the container 1 at that place. After 1 the doors are closed and locked and the owner of the goods retains the key, or seals it with his own seal.

The container 1 is then elevated, by means of the rings 10, onto a suitable vehicle and conveyed to the warehouse where it is again elevated into the desired position by means of said rings.

The ianges 11 provide a means for preventing the entrance of dust and moisture to the container 1 thereby preserving the contents thereof. The closely fitting doors 7, held rigidly against the members 6, and the top 'and bottom angles 2 and 3 respectively, by means of the 'bars 12, also tend to prevent the admission o'r entrance of dust and the like.

The several angles constituting the supporting structure or frame are preferably welded together to secure greater rigidity and to reduce projecting corners, which would occur if the angles were riveted together, which corners might tend to mar or injure valuable contents of the container.

The manner of placing the floor or bottom plate, which is rigidly riveted or otherwise secured to the lower flanges of the bottom frame, also provides a dust proof joint.

When a number of these containers are placed in rows with their doors facing outermost it is obvious that a greater number of accessible compartments or rooms may be provided at a lesser cost than the present method of building the rooms into a warehouse where the cost of material and construction would more than e ual the cost of providing the containers. t is obvious also that where a number 'of containers of various capacities are provided a more eco nomical disposition of valuable space may be obtained.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. `An article of manufacture comprising a container formed of upper and lower anglessecured at their corners to form upper and lower rectangular frames; vertically disposed corner angles connecting the corners of the frames; vertically disposed members mounted between the upper and lower anglesl on one side of the frames and adjacent the corner angles; a sheet metal door hingedly mounted upon each vertical member, said doors meeting approxi' mately midway between said members and overlapping the top and bottom angles; a

-sheet metal housing-extending from one vertical member around the corner angles to the other vertical member; a top plate mounted upon the upper rectangular frame and having depending flanges extending over the top of the sheet metal housing; and a bottom plate within the housing secured upon the lower flanges of the lower recangular frame. v

2. A n article of manufacture comprising a container formed of upper and lower angles secured at their corners to form upper and lower rectangular frames; vertically disposedv corner angles connecting the corners of the frames; vertically disposed members mounted between the upper and lower angles on one side of the frames and adjacent the corner angles; a sheetv metal door hingedly mounted upon each vertical member, said doors meeting approxi- Y mately midway lbetween said members and -overlapping the top and bottom angles;a

sheet metal housing extending from one vertical member around the corner angles to the other vertical member; a top plate mounted upon the upper rectangular frame and having depending flangesl extending over the top of the sheet metal housing; a bottom plate within the housing' secured upon the lower flanges of the lower rectangular frame; and means for securing the doors flush with 'the housing.

- .3. An article of ,manufacture comprising a container formed of upper and lower angles secured at their corners to form upper and lower rectangular frames; vertically disposed corner angles connecting the corners of the frames; vertically disposed members mounted between the upper A the corners thereof whereby said container 1o may be elevated and retained in a horizontal position regardless of an unequal disposition of weight of the contents.

In witness whereof we hereunto set our signatures.

JOHN R. DRIVER. MICHAEL B. DRIVER. 

